Tensions between conservative analyst Scott Jennings and liberal pundit Tiffany Cross were on full display Wednesday night on CNN’s “News Night with Abby Phillip.”
While discussing President Donald Trump‘s repeated interest in the United States taking over Greenland and making it a U.S. state, Cross, the former host of MSNBC’s “The Cross Connection,” clashed with Jennings as she criticized Trump for trying to “colonize” the North American territory.
“It’s a colonizer’s attitude to say, I’ like it, I’m just gonna steal it,’” said Cross, who was then interrupted by Jennings, a former White House staffer for President George W. Bush.
“Steal what?” said Jennings, to which Cross replied, “Land…You cannot just go and say, ‘I like it, it’s mine now.’ It doesn’t work that way. That is what they’re trying to do.”
Cross was again interrupted by Jennings as she attempted to make her point. Seemingly taking Cross’ comments about Trump to be about him personally, Jennings said, “I have never, ever said we’re going to go to Greenland and colonize it or steal it. That’s crazy.”
“I’m not even talking about you. You’re not a member of government. So you’re irrelevant on that point. I’m talking about the president of the United States,” Cross retorted.
That’s when things turned a corner.
“You got fired from your job. How relevant are you?” said Jennings, referring to Cross losing her job at MSNBC in 2022.
Cross, who is now co-host of “Native Land Pod” with Angela Rye and Andrew Gillum, admonished Jennings for choosing to “engage in personal insults,” telling him moments later, “What you lack in the legitimate point, you make up for in personal insults.” Jennings appeared to imply that his “insult” was a result of him believing Cross calling him “irrelevant” was a personal attack.
Eventually getting back to the segment’s topic, Cross explained, “The point I am making is in this new world order, we are looking at countries – whether or not they’re an adversary or ally – it is being determined on what kind of deal we can get; we cannot govern—we cannot legislate that way. We are increasingly isolated on the world stage.”
Jennings has seen increased popularity among MAGA supporters for his unflinching defense of President Trump and is a mainstay on CNN. The conservative firebrand often finds himself in political clashes on various panels throughout the network’s programming.
In addition to “Native Land Pod” and appearances on cable TV, Cross also launched the “Across Generations with Tiffany Cross” podcast on iHeartRadio, which explores intergenerational conversations among Black women.
Scott Jennings torches ex-MSNBC host Tiffany Cross after she calls him irrelevant.
“You got fired from your job, how relevant are you?”
This man is a national treasure. pic.twitter.com/9vSLfiSK43
— Media Research Center (@theMRC) April 10, 2025
